Ken Clark (1927-2009)

biography

Born in Neffs, Ohio, on June 4, 1927, beefy actor Kenneth Donovan Clark acted in a number of low-budget films during the 1950s and 1960s. After serving in the Army as an officer, Clark embarked on a film career in Hollywood in the 1950s, signing with 20th Century-Fox and appearing in a string of popular films. Clark had also been a physique model in the 1950s. In 1956, his busiest year, Clark appeared in five films, mostly westerns for Fox. However, by the late 1950s Fox, as with most other studios, had dropped many of its contract players, including Clark. He then went into low-budget sci-fi films, such as Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959; with Yvette Vickers and Bruno VeSota) and 12 to the Moon (1960; with Tom Conway). He also did quite a bit of television work in the late 1950s, even shooting a television pilot, titled Brock Callahan. Unfortunately, the series was not picked up for broadcast.

Today, Clark is best remembered for a pair of horror/science fiction films. Produced by Roger Corman, Attack of the Giant Leeches was released as a short feature, with a running time of 62 minutes. The cast of Leeches includes beautiful Yvette Vickers in the role of the town tramp and Bruno Ve Sota as Vickers' long-suffering husband. The second, the Columbia Pictures science fiction release 12 to the Moon, has an impressive cast for a B movie, but special effects suffer from its low budget. Nonetheless, it's not a bad film, and Clark and the talented cast make it watchable. But these films did not help his career, so in the early 1960s, Clark went to Europe to star in a number of movies and enjoy the success that eluded him in Hollywood.

South Pacific (1958)

From the 20th Century Fox musical South Pacific. LEFT and CENTER: With Ray Walston. RIGHT: Clark as Stewpot

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)

From Roger Corman's infamous Attack of the Giant Leeches, released by American International. LEFT: With Jan Shepard (thanks to Michael Barnum). CENTER A and B: Clark as Steve Benton. RIGHT: Clark mines the swamp to get rid of the giant leeches

12 to the Moon (1960)

Images from Columbia's sci-fi release 12 to the Moon. LEFT: Clark as Captain John Anderson. CENTER A: With Michi Kobi (thanks to Michael Barnum). CENTER B: Lobby card. RIGHT: Clark and crew land on the moon

LEFT: With Margaret Lee in the Euro spy thriller From The Orient With Fury. RIGHT: Clark as agent Dick Malloy

Agent 077--Mission Bloody Mary (1965)

Special Mission Lady Chaplin (1966)

AS Dick Hallam in the spy thriller Special Mission Lady Chaplin

Tiffany Memorandum (1967)

AS Dick Hallam in the spy thriller Tiffany Memorandum

Desert Commandos (1967)

From the World War II era adventure Desert Commandos

later years

Leaving Hollywood behind for the greener pastures of European films, Clark became very popular in spy thrillers and spaghetti westerns in the 1960s, remaining in Italy to act in films and television programs. Ken Clark passed away from a heart attack in Rome on June 1, 2009, at the age of 81. Clark had just wrapped shooting on an Italian television show at the time of his death. At this time, it is unknown if Clark left any survivors. In 1962 and 1963, Clark was romantically linked to actress Shelley Winters.

FILMLove Me Tender [Blu-ray](1956)Elvis Presley makes his feature film debut in this Civil War-era musical drama, playing Clint Reno, a Texas man too young to fight in the war. Clint marries his older brother's sweetheart after the family learns of his death on the battlefield. When Vance turns out to be aive, his return is fraught with emotional turmoil and complications. Songs include "Poor Boy," "We're Gonna Move," and the title tune. Richard Egan, Debra Paget, and Robert Middleton also star. 89 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English DTS HD 5.1 Master Audio, DTS HD mono Master Audio, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish, French; audio commentary; featurettes; audio soundtrack.Love Me Tender [DVD](1956) DVDElvis Presley makes his feature film debut in this Civil War-era musical drama. The King plays Clint Reno, a Texas man too young to fight in the war. Clint marries his older brother Vance's sweetheart after the family hears reports of his death on the battlefield. When Vance turns out to be alive, his return is fraught with emotional turmoil and complicated further by a missing government payroll stolen by Vance's comrades-in-arms. Songs include "Poor Boy," "We're Gonna Move," and the title tune. Richard Egan, Debra Paget, and Robert Middleton also star. 89 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish; audio commentary; featurettes; photo gallery; theatrical trailers.Between Heaven And Hell [DVD](1956) DVDExpert war drama stars Robert Wagner as a prejudiced Southern landowner who learns the error of his ways while fighting in the Pacific during World War II. Supporting cast includes Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford, Buddy Ebsen, Harvey Lembeck, Frank Gorshin and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. 94 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, Spanish Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; theatrical trailer; interactive menus; scene access. Classic Western Collection: The Outlaws [DVD] DVDFour-disc set includes "Broken Lance," "The Proud Ones," "Forty Guns," and "The Culpepper Cattle Co."The True Story Of Jesse James [DVD](1957) DVD"Rebel Without a Cause" director Nicholas Ray turns to one of history's most notorious rebels--Jesse James--for this thrill-packed oater. The frontier biodrama stars Robert Wagner as James and deals with the final 18 years of the bandit's life, as he struggles to evade the law, leave his life of crime, and return to his wife (Hope Lange) and mother (Agnes Moorehead). Jeffrey Hunter, Alan Hale, Jr., and John Carradine also star. AKA: "The James Brothers." 92 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo.South Pacific (50th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray](1958)Popular Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about life on a lonely Pacific island post during World War II where a young Navy nurse falls for a French plantation owner. Can their love survive, even as the shadow of war looms ever closer? Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor and Ray Walston star. Songs include "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Happy Talk," and more; based on James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific." Includes the original theatrical release and the roadshow version; 157 min./172 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English DTS HD 5.1 Master Audio, Dolby Digital 4.0, Dolby Digital stereo, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Portuguese; audio commentary; featurettes; screen test; photo gallery; theatrical trailer. Two-disc set. Poverty Row Studio Collection: American International, Vol. 1 [DVD] DVDTwo-disc set includes "The Fast and the Furious" (1954), "Hot Rod Girl," "A Bucket of Blood," and "Attack of the Giant Leeches." The Attack Of The Giant Leeches [DVD](1959) DVDNo, it's not about 50-foot lawyers! A dismal Southern swamp is the home for these bloodsucking behemoths who joyfully drain the poor white trash who live there. Charlie Allnut's least favorite film. Bruno Ve Sota, Ken Clark and Yvette Vickers star in this Roger and Gene Corman production. AKA: "Attack of the Giant Leeches." 62 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono; scene access. Plays All Regions. 12 To The Moon [DVD](1960) DVDA trip to the moon proves troublesome for the adventurous international dozen of this sci-fi drama, as they are killed off one by one by strange "accidents" later revealed to be the work of a secret race of lunar aliens. The creatures demand a halt to the world's wars...or else! Ken Clark, Michi Kobi, and Anthony Dexter star. 75 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.Hercules Against The Mongols [DVD](1963) DVDAfter warlord Genghis Khan dies, his three sons go on a murderous rampage, killing innocent people and jailing Princess Bianca until they decide which one will marry her and inherit her land. Her brother escapes and tells Hercules about the troubles. Then Herc gets all medieval on them. Mark Forest, Grazia Maria Spina and Renato Rossini star. Standard; Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Hercules Against The Barbarians [DVD](1964) DVDThe same cast of "Hercules Against the Mongols" gets together for another furious loincloth foray featuring Mark Forest as Hercules. Here he helps the Poles save their beloved Kracow from Mongols led by Genghis Khan's son, Kubali. Ken Clark and Renato Rossini also star in this anachronistic thrill-a-thon. Standard; Soundtrack: English (dubbed).A Place Called Glory (1965)/The Road To Fort Alamo [DVD](1964) DVDFirst, "A Place Called Glory" is a lawless frontier town that celebrates its founding each year by conning two gunfighters into dueling in the center of town. This time around Lex Barker and Pierre Brice are the doomed duo, but they hatch a plan to save themselves and set things right. Marianne Koch, Gerard Tichy co-star. AKA: "Place Called Glory City." Next, "The Road to Fort Alamo" is strewn with bullets as a horseman (Ken Clarke) takes up with shady characters intent on bilking soldiers out of their pay. The caper takes them through Indian territory and an Army captain not yet wise to his scheme. Gripping western by horror director Mario Bava co-stars Jany Clair, Michel Lemoine. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English. In A Colt's Shadow (1965)/Savage Gringo (1966) [DVD] DVDYoung pistolero Steve Blane (Stephen Forsyth) is trained in his deadly craft by a veteran gunslinger named Duke (Conrado San Martin). But when he breaks his mentor's cardinal rule and falls for Duke's daughter, the stage is set for a showdown between the two former friends. "In a Colt's Shadow" co-stars Anne Sherman. Next, a wandering gunman works for a ranch family and comes to their aid when a ruthless land baron sets his sights on their property, and the rancher's wife, in "Savage Gringo." Ken Clark, Peter Carter, Yvonne Bastien star. AKA: "Gunman Called Nebraska," "Ringo from Nebraska." Widescreen; Soundtrack: English (dubbed); interview; photo gallery; theatrical trailers.Desert Commandos [DVD](1967) DVDWhen Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin become the targets of an assassination commando unit, The only one who knows of the mission is Captain Fritz Shuller, a Nazi officer. But will his conflicting morality get in the way of his assignment when his men face off against Allied forces? Find out in this gripping World War II drama from Italy that stars Ken Clark, Horst Frank, Jeanne Valerie. Standard; Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.Tarzana, The Wild Girl (Widescreen Version) [DVD](1969) DVDSeventeen years after a plane crash, an African expedition searches for the lost granddaughter of a wealthy Englishman. What they discover is a scantily-dressed wild woman (wow!) living freely in the jungle. Lurid, Italian-made adventure saga stars Ken Clark, Franca Polesello, and Femi Benussi as Tarzana. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English (dubbed). Dubbed in English.A Man Called Sledge [DVD](1970) DVDRousing Western directed by Vic Morrow stars James Garner and Dennis Weaver as outlaws after the stolen gold that has been swiped by the other members of their gang. Claude Akins, John Marley and Laura Antonelli also star in this colorful actioner. 92 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Japanese.